


The Relationship Delineation

by weasleytook



Category: Big Bang Theory
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-01-18
Updated: 2010-01-18
Packaged: 2017-10-06 10:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weasleytook/pseuds/weasleytook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Penny and Sheldon may have different ways of telling it, but they'll get there eventually.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was totally inspired by [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guinBnWWuKE&feature=related) and the 6:16 mark of [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCJFg3W6KiA). (Spoilers for the end of _When Harry Met Sally..._ in the 2nd clip, if you haven't seen it... but you TOTALLY should see it.) The first few chapters will be adding on to canon episodes, but after that it veers into post-canon events

_"The first time we met, I had just moved into the apartment across the hall from him. He totally flirted with me, but…"_

"Pardon me? I categorically deny that I flirted with you."

"Come on, you were flirting. I mean, in your own weird whackadoodle way, but still, it was flirting."

"Do I need to get my dictionary and show you the definition of flirting?"

"No, Sheldon, you don't. But come on… you gave me this LOOK and you showed me your whiteboard and got all adorable when I said you had a beautiful mind."

"Oh, Penny, Penny, Penny."

"Oh, Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon."

"If anyone was flirting, it was you. Especially that whole 'sit next to me' thing."

"You wouldn't know a girl was flirting with you if your life depended on it."

"Well, maybe not back then, but I know now. And you were definitely flirting. I'm sorry you've been laboring under the delusion that it was the other way around, but I assure you I had only a neighborly interest in you at that first meeting."

"Bullshit."

"Penny, we have had many discussions regarding your rather colorful usage of the English language and –"

"Yeah, yeah, okay sweetie… Let me just tell this story, okay?"

"Fine. Please enlighten them with your version of the events in question."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The last place she had expected to end up on the day she moved in to 4B was at a Sushi bar watching a tiny Jewish engineer sing karaoke. Howard had launched into an energetic rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Penny couldn't help but laugh and cheer him on raucously. Raj was at the other end of the table, bobbing his head along, unable to sing karaoke due to the high female population in the bar tonight. Leonard was on one side of her, cheering Howard on, but also refusing to take the microphone. Sheldon sat on Penny's other side, watching but unsmiling as he twirled his straw around in his Diet Coke.

"Come on, Sheldon, aren't you going to sing?"

"I do not sing in public."

Penny pouted slightly, hoping he wasn't immune to her charms. "Aww, come on. It's just for fun! Nobody cares if you're good or not."

Sheldon abruptly stopped moving his straw and stared her down. "Penny, I'm aware that you are new to this group so I will excuse you for now. But, I must emphatically re-state that I do not sing in public. Under any circumstance."

She grinned flirtatiously and inched towards him a little. "Not even if I accidentally put a little rum into your Diet Coke."

"Absolutely not."

"Fine, be a stick in the mud. But you're missing out…"

"You know, people often mistake the phrase 'stick in the mud' to mean a metaphorical piece of wood trapped in mud. However, it actually comes from a saying 'to stick in the mud' which means staying in an unpleasant situation instead of moving out of the metaphorical mud and into a more pleasant situation."

Penny wrinkled up her nose and nodded. "Awesome. Whatever it means, that's what you are."

Sheldon shook his head and continued, "Hardly. I don't find this situation entirely unpleasant, therefore this isn't mud that I am stuck in. Singing up on that stage would be mud. Metaphorically."

She shifted in her chair and looked at Leonard hoping for some help. "Sorry. He's like this all the time. I'd say you'll get used to it but… probably not."

What a shame. Sheldon was attractive, that was something she knew for sure. Until he opened his mouth. And then she just wanted to reach over and strangle him.

She knew it was shallow, but the moment Sheldon and Leonard came to her doorway, she had sized them up. Sheldon Cooper was definitely the cute one. Not that Leonard lacked in cuteness, but there was something so charming about the way he had looked at the floor after she first locked eyes with him. Neither guy was her usual type, but Sheldon was tall and lanky and sort of awkwardly graceful. And then there were those eyes. The first time they had met hers, she felt like a 13 year old girl sighing over her first crush, but she kept it all inside. His eyes were a bright blue, and if it were possible, they seemed to be both wise and innocent at the same time.

She knew what Leonard had been up to all day. His cues were as obvious as they come. Leonard was interested. But Sheldon was the enigma. She thought maybe he had been flirting with her in the hallway and at the whiteboard, but then she dared to sit in his precious spot. That had been her first mistake. Her second mistake was asking Leonard to go get her television from Kurt. Sheldon would probably never forgive her for what had transpired there.

Penny looked at him again for a moment. He had finally succumbed to the music and was bobbing his head slightly. Perhaps he wasn't completely in the mud like she thought. But he certainly wasn't showing much interest in her. For Penny, that was unusual. She was hardly full of herself, but she also knew that most straight guys tended to show at least a little interest.

She couldn't help but ponder the mysterious Dr. Sheldon Cooper. It was going to take a long time to figure him out. Maybe they would only be neighbors or maybe they would become friends or something else. She didn't know what their future held. She did know he was going to be one tough nut to crack. Lucky for him, Penny had decided in that very moment that she was up to the challenge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**The Daily Social Interaction Log of Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, Ph.D.**

Date: September 24, 2007

Leonard and I met our new neighbor today. Her name is Penny and she is from Nebraska. She is attractive by all Western standards. This fact is inarguable. She also possesses a rather sunny personality even though she ended up crying on our couch.

I am not well versed when it comes to picking up what people call "flirting", but I do believe she was attempting to charm me in order to create some sort of relationship. I will have to consult texts on body language cues to be sure though.

However, she did sit in my spot. I would normally hand out a strike for this sort of offense but as she only met me this afternoon and was unaware of the rules, I decided to let it pass. I will not be so lenient in the future.

Leonard and I also became acquainted with Penny's former paramour, a large hulking man by the name of Kurt. He reminded me of some of the football players that my sister went to high school with in Texas. Both in looks and the skillful way in which he "pantsed" us.

(Note to self: I must find out where my mom bought those pants so Leonard can replace them as it was his foolhardy plan to confront the behemoth over a television. It wasn't even a high definition TV either.)

Penny decided to make it up to us by taking us to dinner at a Sushi bar. Wolowitz didn't waste any time getting up on the stage, in an ill-advised attempt to charm Penny as if he were some sort of crooner. I do wonder if it's possible that the tightness of his pants somehow contributed to his ability to sing in a higher octave though.

I will admit I found Penny attractive until she opened up her mouth to sing. She chose something by someone named Kelly Clarkson but what came out sounded more like a cat stuck in a garbage disposal than a pop singer.

Leonard, however, has decided to ignore this flaw and will likely pursue Penny as a potential mate. I find this preposterous as Leonard is clearly unsuitable for her. He is my friend, but his hopes at having a long term relationship with our new neighbor are even less likely than his prospects of winning the Nobel Prize. Of course, we all know that won't happen either.

Though it would delight my mother if I acted more like Leonard and sought out romantic relationships, I firmly believe that love and the pursuit of it is a distraction. I will let Leonard pursue the woman, but I choose to pursue a higher goal. That is why someday school children will write essays about Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D. whereas Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, Ph.D. will hardly be a footnote.

No one ever won a Nobel Prize by thinking with his penis.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny and Sheldon may have different ways of telling it, but they'll get there eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for The Luminous Fish Effect &amp; The Pancake Batter Anomaly

_"The truth is… he annoyed the crap out of me."_

"Ha!"

"The truth is… he still does."

"Once again, Penny, this is where we differ. You were far more annoying than I was."

"Nooooo, I'm adorable."

"Penny. You sat in my spot. You killed me at Halo. You changed my routines. You were altogether distracting."

"And you were an uptight pain-in-the-ass."

"Fine. Point conceded."

"So we were neighbors, and then we became friends."

"When did we, in your opinion, become friends?"

"When I drove you to the store to get eggs because you were… well, you were being crazy."

"Taking someone to a grocery store does not automatically constitute a friendship."

"Sure it does. I was not your hired chauffeur, Miss Daisy. I did you a favor and friends do favors for each other. When do YOU think we became friends?"

"Back then, I thought it happened much later, but upon reflection, I have decided… Soft Kitty."

"Which time?"

"The first time."

"Awwwwwww…"

"Don't do that."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The last thing you could ever call Sheldon Cooper was an idiot. He knew when he was sick he could be a right pain in the ass. He knew it made him regress back to his childhood. And most of all, he knew how much it annoyed his friends.

The problem was that there was hardly anything in the world Sheldon hated more than being sick. He had been in and out of hospitals a lot when he was growing up, but as a teen and an adult, his illnesses usually amounted to what an average person would get every year. It wasn't just the coughing, sneezing and sore throat he hated. It was the nuisance of being sick. Sheldon carefully planned out his life and had a strict routine to keep up. Being sick took him out of that routine entirely.

Worst of all, it messed with his mind. The cold medicine, the fever, the clogged up sinuses, it put his orderly brain into complete chaos. He was still far above average intelligence, but he wasn't as sharp or as quick as when he was healthy. He couldn't work or keep his attention on anything and it drove him crazy. When Penny had pointed out that he could just have soup delivered, it felt like someone had vacuumed his brain out of his head.

Leonard had finally returned home and made him grilled cheese. He was doing his duty as a friend and roommate, but Sheldon had to admit he preferred Penny's care. Unfortunately, Leonard had said that Penny was probably never coming back.

Sheldon felt a little better the next morning. His fever had gone down considerably, but he was still clogged up and achy. He had slept until 10:30 a.m., something he only did when he was sick. His feet shuffled across the wood floors as he walked into the living room in his pajamas and robe.

"Leonard?"

He looked around but his roommate was not to be found. However, sitting in the middle of the couch was Penny. She was reading a magazine, probably one of those gossip magazines he abhorred, but she was there. Leonard had been very wrong, a part of life that Sheldon had gotten used to as Leonard was often wrong.

"Penny?"

She put down her magazine and smiled her sunniest smile. "Hey Sheldon… how are you feeling?"

"My body temperature has returned to its normal stasis. This indicates that I am on the road to recovery. But, I still feel sick."

She jumped up and crossed the living room towards him and he followed her with his eyes until she reached the kitchen counter. There were Tupperware containers stacked near the stove and Sheldon tilted his head quizzically. They were clearly not ones that he owned.

"Penny… what's this?"

"Split pea soup with little frankfurter slices and homemade croutons."

"But – what… how?"

Penny began rummaging through cabinets for a pan to heat it up in, explaining as she did. "Well, I couldn't get it for you last night, so I had Leonard call your mom to ask for it."

"You did?"

"Yeah. He had to do something to make up for being such a jerk yesterday. So he called and two hours later, she was e-mailing it to me. Of course, it came with a promise that her prayer group would be sending up some prayers for your speedy recovery."

Penny turned on the stove and began pouring the soup into a pan.

"And you made this?"

She laughed brightly and turned around to look at him. "Oh heck no. Believe me, you don't want to eat anything I've cooked. I just went and shopped for the ingredients. I got up early this morning and had one of our cooks at the restaurant make it for you."

"You got up early?"

"That's what you're taking from this story? That I woke up early?"

Sheldon walked toward her, putting his hands on the counter and shaking his head. "No, of course not. I'm just surprised that you would go to all this trouble…"

"Well, Howard, Raj and Leonard wouldn't do it. And I was worried about you. I know how hard it is to be sick and not have anyone to take care of you. Now, go sit down and I'll finish heating this up for you."

Sheldon didn't move, he just stared at her, completely dumbfounded.

"Sheldon. Sit. Now. GO."

Penny stood there pointing at the couch until Sheldon shuffled off to sit down. She turned around and began stirring the soup, humming quietly to herself. His head was still stuffed up so he wasn't entirely sure, but it did sound vaguely like 'Soft Kitty'.

Sheldon settled in to his usual spot with a sigh. "Hey… Where's Leonard?"

"I sent him off to the store to get you more medicine and some honey for your tea."

Sheldon couldn't tear his eyes away from her as she prepared his food. They hadn't really known each other that long, but she had gone to all of this effort to take care of him. He could tell that he was annoying her the night before, but it didn't keep her away this morning. While his other friends were useless, Penny had been there when he needed her. She had gone above and beyond to make him feel just a little bit better.

His cognitive processes were slowly returning so he began to examine the parameters that defined friendship in his head. Penny seemed to meet every requirement of a friend and thus the matter was settled. It would be a few more months before he ever acknowledged the upgrade in their relationship to Penny, but it had happened all the same.

Penny carefully brought the steaming bowl of soup over and placed it on the table in front of him, laying a spoon and napkin next to it. She sat in the chair and watched him as took his first spoonful.

Sheldon hoped his mom never asked because he'd have to tell her that this soup was better than hers. He felt instantly warmed up and comforted. And it was all thanks to Penny.

She was still smiling, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was infectious. He knew it wasn't actually infectious like an airborne virus, but her smile made the corner of his own mouth turn up and that had to mean something.

"So… is it right?"

"Penny, I do believe this is perfect. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Anything else I can do for you?"

Sheldon swallowed another mouthful of soup and shook his head. "You have done more for me than Howard, Raj and Leonard could do combined."

"Well, I'm going to stick around until Leonard gets back, but then I have an audition and a late shift at the restaurant. If you need anything though, you just call me."

Sheldon took another bite and then delicately set his spoon down on an extra napkin. "Penny… what is your last name?"

"It's Parker."

"Penelope Parker?"

"I know. My parents were WAY into alliteration. My brother is Paul and my sister is Pamela. It's stupid but…"

Sheldon's eyes lit up as he interrupted her. "Did you know that a lot of superheroes have alliterative names?"

Her eyebrows went up instantly. "Really?"

"Oh sure. Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Scott Summers, Sue Storm, Cassandra Cain, Bruce Banner, Clark Kent, Matt Murdock, Billy Batson and my personal favorite, Wally West AKA The Flash…"

"Wow. That's cool." Penny sat up proudly in her seat and grinned. "I could be a superhero!"

"Or a superhero's girlfriend. Lois Lane, Pepper Potts, Lana Lang…"

"Hmm. I'd rather be a superhero."

Sheldon was not at all surprised by her response. She furled her brow and pointed at the steaming bowl in front of him. "Now – finish your soup before it gets cold."

Sheldon did as instructed and when he finished he rewarded Penny with a truly rare smile. He had an eidetic memory so it would have been far too obvious to say that he would remember this day forever. The appropriate sentiment, he decided, was that he would remember the smile she gave him in return forever. Maybe she was a superhero after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Penny was actually having one of her better nights at the Cheesecake Factory. Not that she was in love with her job, but sometimes it wasn't so painful. It had been busy, but not overwhelming, and her tables had been generous with their tips. She hoped she'd be able to make up a little of the money she lost because she had taken Sheldon home the day before.

Of course, everyone had questioned her when she came in that night about the crazy homeless guy she had dragged out of there yesterday. Sure, he could be annoying and yes, he drove her nuts, but if she were being honest, she'd say she didn't really mind it. She was more than a little disgusted with the way Leonard had acted when his best friend needed him, no matter how annoying Sheldon could be. The way she saw it was that Sheldon was her friend and he needed her, and part of being friends was helping your friends out no matter how much trouble it would cause you.

She had just dropped off an order when she felt her phone buzzing in the pocket of her apron. She bolted off into the kitchen away from the customers as fast as she could and fished her phone out of her pocket. The caller ID read "Sheldon" and she quickly opened it up to answer.

"Penelope Parker, superhero, what service can I render?"

"Penny… I can't sleep."

She didn't like knowing that Sheldon was still sick, but she found his childlike stuffy-nosed voice a little bit adorable.

"Well, did you take the medicine that Leonard got you?"

"Yes."

"And did he make you a grilled cheese sandwich?"

"Yes, with the rest of the soup you got me."

"Did you drink your tea with honey?"

"Uh-huh… nothing is working."

"Well, sweetie, I can come over when I get done with work, but I don't know what else I can do for you."

"Sing Soft Kitty…"

Penny cringed and looked around at a kitchen filled with servers and cooks. Maybe they wouldn't hear her over the clamor of pots, pans and dishes.

"Right now? Can't Leonard sing it?"

"No, I never taught it to Leonard. I want you to do it… Please, please please…"

Penny sighed softly and wondered if The Flash ever had to do this. She clamped her hand over the end of her phone and mouth, hoping that none of her co-workers would notice and cleared her throat a little.

"Soft Kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur… sleepy kitty, happy kitty, purr purr purr…"

There was a pause but she could still hear Sheldon breathing softly on the other end. "Sheldon… is that okay?"

"Yes. Thank you very much."

"Okay, I have to go back to work, but I'll come check on you in the morning."

"Good night, Penny."

"Good night, Sheldon."

She quickly hung up the phone and slipped it back in her apron suddenly realizing that the kitchen was mostly silent. Looking all around her at the bemused faces of her co-workers, she could feel her face turning red instantly. But, she was hardly the type of girl to let a little embarrassment ruin her night. Penny pulled herself up to her full height and narrowed her eyes to glare at them.

"If any of you choose to make fun of me or breathe a word about this, I will shove a spatula so far up your ass you'll be flipping burgers with your nostrils. Don't tempt me."

She quickly turned on her heel and marched back into the dining room. Penny didn't care if what she had just done was silly because Sheldon had needed her. She didn't know anything about physics and knew very little about science-fiction or comic books, but she had found another way to get through to Sheldon somehow and he seemed like he was finally accepting her as part of her life. In general, making friends had always come easy to Penny, it was just her personality. But making friends with Sheldon had been a challenge that even The Flash might have found difficult.

Penny could hardly wipe the victorious grin off of her face as she went to refill a customer's water glass. She was going to have to start thinking of a cool secret superhero identity if she continued to knock down all of Sheldon's walls.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny and Sheldon may have different ways of telling it, but they'll get there eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for The Work Song Nanocluster, The Vegas Renormalization (and teensy mentions of TBIGH, TPPP, TCS &amp; TTD)

_"We were friends for a while…"_

"And then we became best friends. It wasn't easy to get there. We fought all the time."

"Still do."

"Oh, sweetie, you know you like it."

"I will admit that I find our verbal sparring quite electrifying."

"It's sooooooo hot."

"Penny."

"Blah blah inappropriate blah blah. I know."

"The point I would like to make is that being someone's best friend is not easily defined. I tried coming up with a perfect algorithm, but it was beyond even my capabilities."

"Honey, sometimes there's no science involved when it comes to feelings and relationships."

"That's what you keep telling me."

"And someday you'll actually listen. I think what we're both trying to say is you don't always know the moment someone becomes your best friend, but you always know the moment when you realize it. Right?"

"That is more than acceptable."

"And I think I realized it first…"

"You usually do when it comes to those sorts of things."

"Oh, I love it when you say I'm right…"

"I didn't say that."

"Close enough for me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Penny felt like every muscle in her body hurt. She was already worn out from working through the night on her Penny Blossoms but then she had to chase Sheldon for three blocks while he was wearing his Flash costume. She had watched him zoom zoom zoom out of the apartment but quickly realized that he shouldn't be roaming the streets in his caffeinated state.

She finally caught up to him and practically had to drag him back to the apartment. By the time they walked back and up the four flights of stairs, his caffeine high had started to ebb and she was able to convince him to get some sleep. When she finally made it back to her own apartment, she barely made it to the bedroom before collapsing.

When she awoke hours later, she had no idea if she'd been sleeping for 8 hours or 3 days. She was still in her clothes from the day before and was lying on top of her covers.

Shower. Coffee. Or maybe coffee first and then a shower. Her decision was made when she realized her hair felt like an entire army of rats were nesting in there. Penny stayed in the shower singing one of the sea shanties that Sheldon had taught her until she was sure the hot water was about to run out. She jumped out, quickly toweled off and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

She finally checked the clock and realized that she had slept for about thirteen hours.

"Ugh. Frickin' Penny Blossoms…"

She noticed her cell phone blinking on the nightstand and grabbed it to see a text from Leonard. "When you wake up, come over. Business talk."

She snapped her phone shut with a groan and slipped her feet into a nearby pair of flip-flops. Coffee had to come first, so she shuffled into the kitchen only to remember that they had exhausted the supply of coffee on the entire fourth floor of their apartment building.

Penny marched across the hall and entered without even knocking. The apartment was still covered in supplies and Penny Blossoms, but Leonard was at the counter making a sandwich.

"Hey…"

"Please tell me you went out and bought coffee. If you say no, I may kill you."

Leonard grinned and reached for the coffee pot, pouring her a cup and putting it on the counter as quickly as possible. She practically skipped across the living room and took a drink, not even caring that there was no milk.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Well, since The Flash failed to make it to the store, I figured I better take care of it."

"Oh God… I'm so getting a strike for that, aren't I?"

Leonard shrugged as he was cutting his sandwich in half. "I don't know. You didn't force him to drink the coffee. Maybe he'll be lenient."

Penny scrunched up her face with uncertainty. "Sheldon?"

"Yeah. You're screwed."

"At least my previous strikes were expunged after the panty incident."

As if on cue, Sheldon came tottering into the living room. He rubbed his eyes like a child and glared at both of them. At some point, he had changed out of his costume and into a pair of blue plaid pajamas.

Penny piped up with a cheery, "Morning Sheldon!"

"This is highly unacceptable."

Penny walked toward him, words pouring out like water. "Sheldon, I am so sorry about the coffee thing… and the whole tackling you in the middle of the street thing… And going into your room and just… everything. I'm so sorry."

Sheldon's expression softened, much to her surprise. "Penny, that's alright. You were only trying to help me."

"True. So what's unacceptable then?"

"I slept through the entire morning and part of the afternoon."

"Uhh, yeah, me too."

Sheldon rolled his eyes and walked around her to grab a box of cereal from the top of the refrigerator. "That may be acceptable to you, but I like to adhere to a very strict schedule and thirteen hours of sleep does not figure in to that. I will have to adjust my entire routine to accommodate this disruption."

Leonard raised his eyebrows and moved out of Sheldon's way. "Sheldon, everything about the last two days was a disruption."

Sheldon paused in the middle of pouring the cereal and looked confused for a moment. "Hmm. I suppose so."

He immediately went back to fixing his cereal as if nothing was bothering him anymore. Leonard and Penny exchanged confused glances.

"That's all you have to say? No strikes to be issued? No emergency plans that we have to follow in order to get your routine back on track?

"No, Leonard, I'm fine. I will have to make several adjustments today, but my routine was sacrificed in order to help Penny and I believe it was a worthwhile enough venture to allow for the disruption. It was my choice to do so, and I will adjust accordingly."

And that's all it took for Penny. If she wasn't afraid of him having a seizure, she would have hugged him immediately. Sheldon Cooper, rigid and unmoving, the man who scheduled everything, including his bodily functions, had been flexible. For her. Not for Leonard, Howard or Raj, but for her.

She took her coffee and sat in the middle of the couch, watching him as he finished making his cereal. He came and sat in his spot next to her while Leonard took his sandwich and sat in the chair. Penny couldn't stop smiling and she hoped she didn't look too much like a fool. They sat there in silence, still a little tired and recovering from the night before.

Penny watched him eat and realized that he hadn't issued her a single strike since the panty piñata incident. Not for reading his Meemaw's letters or shooting his cushion with a paintball gun or for keeping him up all night gluing flower barrettes. Either the strike system had broken down entirely or he was making an exception for her.

She wished that he wasn't so twitchy about being touched, because she would have latched on to him and maybe even kissed him on the cheek. Penny knew right then and there that Sheldon was her best friend. She always had a lot of friends growing up, but the only person she considered a best friend had been Molly Jacobson who moved away from Omaha when they were 13. Until Sheldon.

He finished his cereal quickly and excused himself to go take a shower. When he was out of earshot, Leonard looked right at her and spoke.

"What the hell was that?"

"What?"

"Since when did Sheldon just let things go?"

"I guess he put friendship above being an obsessive nutcase on his priorities list. Just this once."

"Weird."

Penny just mumbled "Mmm-hmmmm" in response and took another drink of coffee. Sheldon didn't have to help her with her business, there was certainly no personal gain in it for him. But he did it to help her make some extra money. It was a completely unselfish act. And most of all, he had enjoyed working with her while the other three guys complained for most of the night.

At some point they had gone from just being friends to being best friends. Even when they argued, or when he annoyed her, she still enjoyed being around him. He had left an indelible mark on her life and she realized that very morning how grateful she was for it. Leonard, Howard and Raj were her friends, that much was true, but it was Sheldon that had become a part of her life she didn't want to do without.

"Penny?"

She snapped out of her thought process and looked back to Leonard. "Hmm?"

"About the orders from last night…"

"Uh, yeah, what about them?"

She only half paid attention to what Leonard was talking about, because the other half of her mind was stuck on how Sheldon Cooper had somehow became one of the most important people in her life. Penny wasn't even sure a guy with an I.Q. of 187 could figure that one out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sheldon's internal alarm clock nudged him out of his sleep slowly. He blinked a dozen times before he remembered he wasn't in his own bed and was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. That wasn't the strangest part though. He had expected to involuntary tense up as was his usual reaction to being thrown into an unfamiliar situation. But, that's not what happened. Sheldon felt comfortable and at ease, even in what he considered a garishly bright and colorful room.

The sheets on her bed had been slept in before him because he smelled a familiar scent on the pillowcase under his head. Cinnamon. And a hint of vanilla. He knew it because he had bought it for her. It was part of a moment that would go down as one of Sheldon Cooper's top five greatest memories. He had given Penny enough bath supplies for at least two years, but he knew it would never be enough to repay her for the DNA of Leonard Nimoy.

He considered lying there longer as it was surprisingly comfortable but ultimately decided against it. He stretched with a yawn and his sock clad feet hit the floor. The sounds of Penny's soft snores came filtering in from the living room. Sheldon frowned slightly because she had never taken his advice about seeing an otolaryngologist. He would make sure to remind her again.

Sheldon put on his shoes and quietly made his way towards her kitchen. He did his best to glide through the apartment so as not to wake her up. Searching through her kitchen turned up an appalling lack of edible breakfast items. It was no wonder she was always at their apartment stealing their milk and food.

He managed to scrounge up enough to make a breakfast of toast and sliced fruit. He even brewed a pot of coffee for Penny. For her part, she continued to snore, not at all noticing the racket going on in her kitchen. Sheldon finished cooking and then walked to the end of her couch by her feet.

"Penny… Penny… Penny…"

Not even a stir. He checked his watch and wondered if Penny's "punch you in the throat before 11" rule applied if you were already in her apartment. It was only 8:30. Sheldon quickly decided he preferred his larynx right where it was so he ate his own breakfast and then scribbled a note on a blindingly pink notepad he found in her kitchen.

_Penny,_

I made breakfast with the meager stocks of food you had in your kitchen. You should really be more diligent about your grocery shopping. I state this in case there is some sort of catastrophe in which you become trapped in your apartment for days. I do not wish you to starve.

I also made a fresh pot of coffee. Thank you again for your hospitality.

-Dr. Sheldon Cooper

P.S. I see you didn't take my advice about seeing an otolaryngologist. I can give you the phone number for a good one in Glendale.

He put the note in front of her so if he was gone when she woke up, she would know. Sheldon took a seat in the green chair near the couch and waited in silence, knowing he'd hear Leonard's plodding footsteps up the stairs eventually. He noted that even though she snored, it really did nothing to lessen her attractiveness. She still looked peaceful and comfortable and he momentarily wondered if watching someone sleep was a violation of appropriate social protocol.

Sheldon suddenly felt a great swell of… well, it was something. Was it affection? Had the fruit in Penny's refrigerator been a bit over-ripe? He would have to examine the symptoms later. There was no time now because his sensitive ears had picked up the sound of Leonard returning home from Las Vegas.

He quickly put grabbed his jacket and exited Penny's apartment, shutting the door behind him. Leonard was already unlocking the door to 4A when he made it to the hallway.

"Oh good, you're finally home."

Leonard looked perplexed. Of course. Leonard always looked perplexed. "What were you doing at Penny's?"

"Uh, well, we had dinner, uh, played some games and then I spent the night. Oh! You'll be happy to know that I have a much better understanding of friends with benefits."

He breezed past Leonard and headed directly towards his bedroom, ready to shed the clothes he had been wearing for 24 hours already. Sheldon closed the door behind him and decided there was something he had to do before showering and changing his clothes. He grabbed a couple of notebooks and pens out of a drawer and sat in the middle of his bed.

_Knock, knock._

"Sheldon? Care to elaborate on what you just told me?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Not now, Leonard! I'm busy!"

Sheldon waited until he heard Leonard's footsteps walk away from the door and then opened up a blank page of the notebook. He wrote the names Leonard, Penny, Howard and Raj as a column and then around it began scribbling notations that only Sheldon would ever understand. He drew lines and arrows from here to there until he felt his hand cramp up.

Things usually came to easy Sheldon when they involved math, physics or anything that was quantifiable. He had come to learn that human relationships and affection wasn't something he could just break down into numbers, charts and equations.  
He looked at the arrows heading towards Penny's name. He thought of autographed napkins, Penny Blossoms, shopping together, paintball, Halo and panty piñatas. Sheldon realized how it had been months since he banished her. There had been occasions he could have given her a strike, including shooting his cushion with a paintball gun, but he had not done it. If it had been anyone else, they would have been taking his class by now.

If pressed to answer, Sheldon would have usually said that Leonard was his best friend. But things had changed. Penny was the one that was always present in his life. Even when he made her mad or when she was infuriating him, he knew they would work it out eventually.

He had never had best friends growing up. He knew most people didn't understand him, and he was okay with that. Most people were too pedestrian for him to waste his time on anyway. Leonard, Howard and Raj were the first true friends he had ever really made due to their common interests. Penny was different. Not a scientist, not a sci-fi or comic book fan. But she had found a way to integrate herself into his very rigid lifestyle somehow. He didn't know how to define the term 'best friend'. The only thing he knew for sure was that he didn't want to know what it would be like to not have Penny around.

He opened up the second notebook and found the first blank page, making sure to write it in ink so it could never be erased.

**The Daily Social Interaction Log of Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, Ph.D.**

Date: April 28, 2009

I have decided that if I were to make an organizational chart of my social relationships (and I may do so after showering), that Penny Parker would be on the top tier. Despite her many qualities that irritate me, her loyalty and kindness have won me over.


End file.
